Yaseen Akhtar

Yaseen loved having his friends around him all of the time. He always wanted to be with them and helped us all out so many times and in so many ways. He would bend over backwards for his friends - he invited his friends over, cooked for them and even got us all jobs at the Sheraton Hotel so he could be around his friends even more!

Yaseen was thoughtful, kind and loved animals including Fritz, Panda and Kiwi.

I remember him telling me about what a rich, incredible childhood he had growing up in SE Asia. His upbringing made him thankful, open-minded and a very kind person.

Yaseen was also mature and responsible. He stood on his own two feet as soon as he could. He bought several cars and owned his own house before many of us had bought our first car.

Yaseen loved to travel and we went to the Bahamas together. We also travelled to hockey games and to concerts in Montreal and in Toronto.

True friends don’t say good-bye, they just take extended leaves of absences from each other.

Yaseen and I took a few long breaks from one another in the past 35 years. We always reconnected easily.

We are going to take another unexpected and very sad break from each other but I’m really looking forward to more long discussions about anything and everything. Just remember that you’re entitled to your own opinions but not really your own facts…No matter how great a debater you think u are, Yak! By the way, you were really good and often right! ;)

In the meantime, I promise I won’t forget your laughter. Our jokes. Our conversations. Our plans. Our memories. Our experiences. Our friendship.

I miss you.

Dear Yaseen, we never met - but heard so much about you . Your parents have always been special for the Husain clan in Pakistan. RIP and stay blessed ??

YAK! My MAN you ARE AWESOME...ALWAYS WERE. I remember you were one of if not the first new human I met in the atrium at CB in September of 1986 first orientation day. You were sportin' the new bandage ROKKIN' it like a PRO! Immediate friends were were and it remained that way at all timez. Many laughs along the way. Man we had FUN ;) Yo, keep it COO wherever your great energy sails and I can only assume it will alwayyz be PARADYYSE. T

I never met Yasin my nephew. May Allah open the gates of Heaven for him. Denise… a powerful iconic lady whom I respect dearly and Shahid will InshAllah get over this great tragedy with courage and fortitude. We the Husain family have read the Koran for him and prayed to Allah for his soul.

I went to Highschool with Yassen, and from grade 9 to 11, I had the fortunate opportunity to
experience the wonder years with him.

That was an age when we were both curious about everything, and we only thought of the present. One of the the greatest events Yassen did, was he was the first of us
when we turned 16 and got our drivers licenses, to get Car! and was not just any car, but what we all referred to as the Yak Mobile. It was a brown/copper hatchback, that was a beater, but to all of us it was dream, it was a Porsche in our eyes. We all made him pick us all up every morning for school, even though we were all walking distance from the school. The car would be piled high with guys on top of one another, all of us, just wanted to come to school in that car and it was a good time. Im lucky to have experienced my most formidable years with him.

Yaseen and I had identical schedules in our final year of high school and so we spent many afternoons watching silly 80s movies together. He was the best to watch movies with because no matter how silly the joke was, he would howl with laughter and it was contagious. I'll never forget you, Yaseen. Thank you for being a great friend.

Yaseen you are such a beautiful and gentle soul. We worked together at Rogers and yoi introduced Rob and I. We would not be together all these years later if it wasn’t for you. Rob and I spent the first few years of our relationship with Yaseen. Spending many weekends together, walking our dogs, listening to music.
His laughter was contagious.
Yaseen was always welcoming, warm and kind. Rob and I lived with him for 6 weeks prior to our departure to the UK. Not an easy thing to do to accept your friends and their dog into your house but he did it without hesitation. I always found Yaseen to be grounded, practical, honest, and kind. He was a loving friend. I will remember his warmth of spirit, his unique laugh, and the gift of his friendship. He is deeply missed and both Rob and I who are devastated by his loss, especially for his family.
Yaseen, we love you.

My condolences to Yaseen’s family Yakkers was a good friend and was my SportSavant and taught me a lot...My Vegas buddy. See you on the other side Rest in peace my friend

I remember Caroline, Yaseen and I hanging out in our neighborhood on our wheels, Yaseen had his skateboard, care and I had our roller skates, eventually we ended up graduting to riding bikes together. We would just talk and talk and hang out and be rolling around... There was nothing but bliss, fun and a lot of laughing and talking.. Yaseen was a gentle sweet hearted soul with the most infectious laugh. He always gave me great advice when I would be upset about something that happened at school or if I was feeling down about myself. We kept in touch for years after highschool and hung out with the Same group of friend's, as time moved on, the group kept getting smaller, until our lives pulled us into different directions and paths.. wherever our paths separated us, it didn't matter, distance was not a problem to just pick up and talk. I was always able to have the best conversations when we were one on one. Our last conversation was Yaseen telling me how happy he was for me and where my life has taken me, we always felt that we were trying to live an adult life and still feeling like a kid inside. His heart was so full of love, he always gave without expecting anything in return. The fact that he was in my life for so long, it's hard to think that our last conversation was in 2011. The day's are long but the years go by so quickly... The years flew by and I'm writing a farewell to the most wonderful human and kind gentle hearted soul. I Love you Yaseen, I love how we would laugh and laugh I loved how we would talk in an Indian accent when talking about our parents.. I loved that I could talk to you about not fitting in a South community and in a north american society. I loved that you always knew that when I was hard on myself, it was because I was still insecure about things and had a lot more growing up to do - of course you were always right and wise and I hate that we didn't have our last conversation where I would say thank you, thank you for your friendship, thank you for your laughter. Nahid

So sad to get your tragic news. May your loving memories of him bring comfort at this difficult time.
Lots of love to your family